Superpatriot: Liberty & Justice #1

From Image Comics in 1995, this opening issue of Superpatriot: Liberty & Justice arrives with a cover by penciler Dave Johnson and inker Drew Geraci that wastes no time making an impression — a red-white-and-blue-masked hero wielding a large blade tears through an overwhelming mass of heavily armed, armored soldiers, spent shell casings flying as the chaos erupts around a smoldering, skull-like form in the background. The sheer density of bodies and hardware crammed into that composition gives the whole thing a kinetic, almost claustrophobic intensity. With Tom and Mary Bierbaum and Keith Giffen sharing writing duties, this series clearly arrived in 1995 with serious creative firepower behind it.